Philadelphia the good guys for once, as Sixers face Heat

Breaking Bad is a great show - dark and deep and well-written. In the Season 3 opener, Jesse Pinkman, one of the two main characters, gets out of rehab. He's a drug dealer and a drug user, but until that moment he had never been very introspective. In a powerful scene with his meth-cooking partner Walter White (played by the brilliant Bryan Cranston), Jesse says it's finally time to accept himself for who he is.

"And who are you?" Walter asks.

"I'm the bad guy," he says.

In sports, as in television dramas, there's always a bad guy. Sometimes it's a player. Sometimes it's a group of players or a whole team or an entire city. Philadelphians understand that better than most. As far as the national media and out-of-town sports lovers are usually concerned, the athletes and people here wear black hats. It's our role. That's the way it's always been, even if it hasn't always been deserved.

Now and then, though, a bigger group of more loathsome bad guys comes along and suddenly Philly doesn't seem so awful to the knee-jerk knuckleheads who don't know anything about us in the first place. When that happens, when the other guys are really detestable, it offers Philadelphians the rare opportunity to be sympathetic figures.

The Miami Heat won the first game of the playoff series against the Sixers, but they did not win over the general public. And they won't. Not when they inevitably push past the Sixers and into the second round. Not even if they win the Eastern Conference or the NBA title. No matter how well Miami performs, the Heat will remain national villains - international, even, if you count Canada (though I'm not even sure Canadians count Canada).

So congrats, Philly. The city gets to be the good guy for at least three more games. In the same way that the Phillies became the default rooting interest of every non-New Yorker when the two teams met in the World Series two years ago, hoop heads and media types everywhere are backing the Sixers during their series with the dastardly and unlikable Heat.

And why not? It's hard to hate a scrappy, up-and-coming, well-coached team like the Sixers - possibly because people who aren't from here would have a difficult time identifying anyone to hate other than Elton Brand or Andre Iguodala. The Heat, however, are known and reviled all over. And with good reason.

There was the ridiculous, self-aggrandizing, televised genesis of their evil not-quite empire in which the would-be king, LeBron James, told Cleveland and the rest of the country that he'd be taking his "talents to South Beach." There was that shameful preseason laser light show and smoke-machine fete that doubled as a mini-championship celebration before a game had been played. There were the countless and well-publicized early-season arguments between the Big Three (or Miami Thrice or whatever affected nickname they've adopted) and their preteen head coach. And, most infamously, there was the group sob session.

After the Heat lost a regular-season game to the Bulls, head coach Erik Spoelstra revealed to the media and the world that tears were shed in the Miami locker room. When the news broke, the rest of the NBA and nation also cried, but that was mainly from laughing too hard.

The Heat might as well go car-to-car in parking lots across the country to slip flyers under windshield wipers with messages that implore people to despise them. Not that people need prompting. Hating the Heat has become a universal hobby for those of us who don't live in Miami and look like over-tanned relatives of Magda from Something About Mary. Sports Illustrated ran a piece titled "No choice but to hate the Heat." Yahoo Answers has a page dedicated to explaining why people hate the Heat. And there's even a Facebook page called - you guessed it - "I Hate the Heat."

Enjoy it, Philly. The goodwill is temporary, but for at least the next few days you won't have to turn on SportsCenter or read something on the Internet about how everyone everywhere is rooting against your team and your town. This sort of role reversal doesn't happen very often. It should be noted and appreciated while it lasts - because it won't last very long.

For the pro wrestling fans out there, think of yourselves and the city as longtime heels. In the story line you've always known, Philly has been forced to play the scoundrel. Then, suddenly, the NBA and the Heat come along and, out of necessity, you're allowed to turn face for a short period. People who would otherwise spit after saying "Philadelphia" will now root with you and for the Sixers.

It will be just like that time the Undertaker turned face for a little while. Of course, the WWE put him in a coffin and buried him shortly thereafter - several times, if memory serves.